Improved oonneotiefg-eod adjustment



5v a @instan ytetes ignite-at @final Letters Patent 'No.7'9,019, dated June 16, 1868.

IMPROVED GONNEGTIhIG-ROD ADJUSTMENT.

die ,stiletto narran iu there fillettes @dat mit mating peut ai tige anni.v

TO ALL WHOM IT MY QONCERN 1 Be it known that I, ROBERT D. O. SMITH, of Washington, in the county of Washington, and District of `Columbia, have invented a. new and useful Improvement in Connecting-Rod Adjustments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description-ot` the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing my devicein position.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the checlbwafshcr.

Figure 4 is a`crosssect`ion of the connecting-rod showing the spline therein.

My invention consists in interposing somewhere between'the ends of a connectingdfod, a screw-sleeve, or the equivalent of that device, and making said rod 'in two parts, to be united by said sleeve, so that by the turning of the sleeve, the distance between the ends of the rod maybe increased or diminished without detaching either end of the rod from its wrist-herrnections.`

That others may understand the construction and operation of rnyinvention, I will particularly describe it.

Iln ig. 1 is represented a device for converting rotary into reciprocating motion. It is not, however, to he understood that my invention is conned to apparatus of thatdescription, as I contemplate its application to any connecting-rod, for ivhatever purpose used in connection with moving machinery. It is contempla-ted as being particularly useful in the adjustment oi' valve-rods, harvcster-pitmen, and in other 'like places, especially where frequent adjustment is sometimes required. l

A is a balance-crank wheel, B B is the connecting-rod,V and C a reciprocating lever. The connecting-rod B is made in two parts, and the adjacent ends are provided with screw-threads, the same being` cut to the right hand on one part, and to the lefthand on-the other. The sleeve D 'is made with right and left-hand femaie screws, as shown in fig. 2, and the e'nds of the pitman or connecting-rodf are inserted, and screwed into said sleeve, as shown and described. Now it is very plain that it' the two outer ends of the conneetingmod be 4attached to the wrist-pins,'as at E and Il', the distancehetween saidpoiuts E and F may lhe increased or diminished, by rotatingthe sleeve D, because as the screw-threads run in di-ierent directions, the parts of the pitman or oonnecting-rod'will be moved in opposite directions when thc sleeve is rotated,` and the effect sought isV thus accomplished. Forinstance, in g.,1, the stroke of the lever C .will be from the points to H. Suppose it is required for any purpose to change' the position of said stroke, so that it will vibrate from I to J, it will be accomplished byV turning the sleeve D until the wrist F has been brought tothepoint K, or .the connecting-rod shortened that much, and this can be accomplished with the utmost ease, facility, and exactness, and.without detaching either wrist connection, as is now required where a screw-connection is made by screwing one end of the connecting-rod into ascrew-head, as in harvester-pitmen. Y In order to render the sleeve-connection rigid, check-nuts L must be employed, which, when the adjust-` ment has been completed, are screwed down hard against the ends oi the sleeve. f In'some situations, however,

check-nuts alone will not prove reliable, because any force applied to the main nut willoperate directly, through i frictional contact, to turn 4the check-nut also, I have therefore devised a cheekwashcr, O, to be interposed between the main nut andfcheclenut; said washer being constructed and attached so that it cannot revolve on the screw, and therefore cannot transmit any rotary motion from one nut to the other. This washer is shown in iig. 3. It resembles any' common washer, except that it is provided with a little tongue or projection, M, which ts in a spline, N, 4,)'cut in the screw lengthwise with its axis. The operation of this washer is evidenti The check-nuit in being screwed down upon the main nut, does not exert any influence to turn it, if the washer with the tongue M is intcrposed, but the check-nut only operates' to force the main nut against the threads of the screw in a direction parallel with the axis of thescrew; whereas, when the washer is not interposed., or a. common washer is employed, the frictional contact with the end of the main nut will be generally suicient to canse that nut to turn slightly also, and in so doing, the adjustment will be changed, so that the use of said washer, as described, will insurei'no alteration of adjustment in forcing the cheek-nut home, and it will also nsnre no change of adjustment, by reason of vibration or shocks administered to the nuts.l

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, is i A connecting-rod or pitman constructed in two parts, and united by the sieeve D with right and left screws, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 1

A washer provided with an inward-projecting tongue, M, to be placed between a. main and cheek-nut, in connection with a. spline, N, out in the screw, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

- R. D. O.. SMITH. Witnesses:

R; S. TURNER, EDM. F. BROWN. 

